Marsh Launches Global Public Agency Team to Address Insurance Demand

Increased volatility in the political risk landscape coupled with lingering effects from the global financial crisis have project developers, investors, exporters, and others turning increasingly to public agencies for political risk and trade credit insurance. Accessing such public bilateral and multilateral agencies (MDBs) and export credit agencies (ECAs) can be an intricate and time-consuming undertaking that requires more specialised expertise than is needed to access private insurance markets.

In response, Marsh has formed a global public agency team comprised of senior specialists within its political risk and trade credit practice to assist clients in accessing and procuring insurance from MDBs and ECAs around the world. Based in Washington DC, New York, London, Toronto, Paris, Mumbai, and Singapore, Marsh’s specialists have detailed knowledge of the applications and approval processes as well as understanding of the environmental, social, developmental, and other policy requirements inherent in obtaining public agency coverage.

“The public sector has always been a major provider of political risk and trade credit insurance, but is often overlooked by organisations until the risk landscape worsens and the need for more insurance grows,” said Julie Martin, a senior vice president (SVP) within Marsh’s political risk practice and leader of the new public agency team. “In some cases, public insurance coverage is the only option for insuring challenging risks – especially those in the most volatile regions of the world.

“The political risk environment remains highly volatile and unpredictable – as highlighted by the recent expropriation events in Argentina and political unrest in the Middle East and north Africa,” Martin continued. “At the same time, the risks of payment defaults and corporate failures due to the lingering global financial crisis continue to fuel demand for more trade credit insurance, and mounting concern over the eurozone’s debt crisis is only feeding more demand.”